Hmmm... I agree that we might be reaching some kind of "point of no return", but it's based on the amount of press being generated about Bitcoin and the tenor and quality of the articles (generally speaking). Not sure how useful that map is in gauging this critical mass.

Check out Germany or the UK as well... it's not just the US (although USA does have a head start..).

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...it's based on the amount of press being generated about Bitcoin and the tenor and quality of the articles (generally speaking). Not sure how useful that map is in gauging this critical mass.

No. These are not people Googling Bitcoin. These are buyers and sellers. It is a very good indicator of Bitcoin adoption, availability and liquidity... much better than Google trends or other oft cited stats.

That doesn't tell the whole story. Many or in my case all of those buyers and sellers are old and defunct. I have five in my area contacted every single one months ago, and still have got nothing back. The only way I found someone local was through these forums.

Barrier to entry is still too high for widespread adoption, imo ... but the s/ware tools are developing.

Kind of interesting how it is self-selecting that the more technical savvy users can get in earlier ... and as the tools are made available for easier entry it spreads to a wider group of lesser abilities and so on, in stages.

Remember the ECB's report on "electronic currencies" blatantly about Bitcoin late last year? It was a nice write-up, around 60 pages if I recall correctly. But what was the purpose of it? Why publish it on the Internet for everyone to see, rather than send some memos to the higher-ups? If they're worried about the banks and governments, and Bitcoin poses a legitimate threat, wouldn't that make it a pretty sensitive topic? I'm becoming more and more convinced that the report wasn't so much a warning about Bitcoin, but rather: an attack move. It was the purposeful act of informing as many people as possible about Bitcoin, and letting them know that the ECB is taking it seriously. And by claiming that it falls within their domain of responsibilities, in a round-about way the ECB is actually backing Bitcoin.

Remember the ECB's report on "electronic currencies" blatantly about Bitcoin late last year? It was a nice write-up, around 60 pages if I recall correctly. But what was the purpose of it? Why publish it on the Internet for everyone to see, rather than send some memos to the higher-ups? If they're worried about the banks and governments, and Bitcoin poses a legitimate threat, wouldn't that make it a pretty sensitive topic? I'm becoming more and more convinced that the report wasn't so much a warning about Bitcoin, but rather: an attack move. It was the purposeful act of informing as many people as possible about Bitcoin, and letting them know that the ECB is taking it seriously. And by claiming that it falls within their domain of responsibilities, in a round-about way the ECB is actually backing Bitcoin.

Remember the ECB's report on "electronic currencies" blatantly about Bitcoin late last year? It was a nice write-up, around 60 pages if I recall correctly. But what was the purpose of it? Why publish it on the Internet for everyone to see, rather than send some memos to the higher-ups? If they're worried about the banks and governments, and Bitcoin poses a legitimate threat, wouldn't that make it a pretty sensitive topic? I'm becoming more and more convinced that the report wasn't so much a warning about Bitcoin, but rather: an attack move. It was the purposeful act of informing as many people as possible about Bitcoin, and letting them know that the ECB is taking it seriously. And by claiming that it falls within their domain of responsibilities, in a round-about way the ECB is actually backing Bitcoin.